AC Milan shared the spoils with city rivals Inter in the Derby della Madonnina on Sunday night after a 1-1 draw at San Siro.
Both sides had chances throughout in a highly entertaining encounter, but it was Hakan Calhanoglu who put the Nerazzurri ahead from the penalty spot in the first half as the Turkish international didn’t hide his delight at scoring against his former club.
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However, Milan’s response was swift as an own-goal from Stefan de Vrij levelled things up shortly after, and while the Rossoneri went close late on through Alexis Saelemaekers and Franck Kessie, Lautaro Martinez also saw a spot-kick saved by Ciprian Tatarusanu in a back-and-forth showdown.
The result leaves Milan joint-top of Serie A with Napoli, while we remain seven points ahead of Inter with the international break now upon us.
Milan player ratings vs Inter:
Ciprian Tatarusanu, 7 – Crucial save to deny Martinez’s penalty, and what a save it was too. Well-beaten on the first spot-kick, but was alert to danger thereafter.
Davide Calabria, 6.5 – Another solid performance defensively as he kept Ivan Perisic quiet and showed plenty of grit and determination to propel us forward to try and win the game.
Simon Kjaer, 6.5 – Leading figure as usual as he nullified Inter’s front two well and marshalled the backline to keep things tight.
Fikayo Tomori, 7 – Similarly to Kjaer, he produced a top display as he defended well throughout and played a part in forcing the mistake for the own goal. Continues to show great maturity and leadership at the back.
Fode Ballo-Toure, 4.5 – Really poor defending to concede the second penalty and was vulnerable at times. Did produce an important clearance off the line though to make a more positive contribution.
Sandro Tonali, 7 – A battling performance from the Italian midfielder as he worked relentlessly to impose himself on the game and got stuck in at every opportunity. While the attacking quality wasn’t always there, it was a great effort nonetheless.
Franck Kessie, 5.5 – Overall, it was a decent outing. However, inexplicably gave away the first penalty with risky play in his own box and missed a glorious late chance to win it.
Brahim Diaz, 5 – Showed glimpses of his quality with technical skill to beat his man, but shifted over to the right side for this game and it wasn’t one of his more influential performances while he continues to work back to full fitness and match sharpness.
Rade Krunic, 6 – Played a key role in limiting Inter’s midfield as they couldn’t get Marcelo Brozovic on the ball to dictate the tempo due to his pressure in that area. Did that side of his job well, but as is often the case, needs to offer more in an attacking sense too.
Rafael Leao, 5 – Couldn’t use his qualities to decisive effect in this one as Inter did well to limit his influence on the left flank. Continued to probe for an opening but couldn’t get through.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 5 – A difficult night for the Swedish stalwart as he couldn’t really impose himself in the final third and get involved. Quiet one on this occasion, and perhaps should have been replaced sooner to offer us something different.
Substitutions:
Pierre Kalulu, 6.5 – A good impact off the bench as he was a lot more confident and played with more conviction on and off the ball.
Alexis Saelemaekers, 6.5 – Similarly to Kalulu, added fresh impetus to our play in the latter stages and went close to finding a winner as his effort crashed off the post.
Ante Rebic, 6.5 – Great to see him back and fit after his spell out with injury. Caused Inter problems down the left after coming on, albeit was just missing that final piece of quality to make a decisive impact.
Ismael Bennacer, 6.5 – As with all of our changes, he was also positive after being introduced as he added fresh legs in midfield to maintain control and keep us pushing forward.
Tiemoue Bakayoko, N/A